I hadn’t heard of the Lallapolosa Baking Company before, but I’m never one to refuse brownies, so when they offered to send some of their pecan & salted caramel brownies, I bit their hand off – figuratively speaking.

Lallapolosa make an extensive range of brownies, cakes, cookies & confections, but if I had to pick any one item, this would probably be it. For one thing, they come in huge boxes of 12 (1kg) or 18 (1.5kg) that look beautiful. Tied with a ribbon and wrapped in tissue paper, they just feel like a quality, handmade gift.

But the wow factor doesn’t really hit you until you lift the lid and peel back the paper inside. Rather than individually packaged brownies, you’re presented with a large slab of brownie which has been cut into slices before being shoehorned into the box. It’s quite an impressive sight.

The surface of the brownie is loaded with pecans and smothered in caramel. It’s crunchy and gooey and delightfully difficult to pick up a single slice without making a complete mess.

After I’d finally managed to free a single slice, I managed to get some onto a plate for closer examination. The bulk of the top layer is made up of nuts, chocolate and caramel, with more of the actual brownie towards the bottom.

When I bit into it, one word came to mind: Snickers.

It has that same nutty, caramel flavour and chewy texture, but of course is much richer, fresher and tastier. To be honest, the actual brownie is really just a carrying mechanism for all these other delicious ingredients. It’s there, but it’s not the star of the show.

After a single slice I had to have a sit down and a bit of a rest. While these aren’t as purely rich as a brownie like Paul A Young makes, they’re still very dense and sweet. They’re quite a different take on the concept of what a brownie should be, but I still love them.

I love the fact that they’re so beautifully presented and come in a box so big that you just have to share it. They’re a bit different from other brownies I’ve tried lately and while they might appeal less to brownie purists (if there is such a thing!), they’re a delicious and indulgent snack.